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The Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas was the scene of two unforeseen upsets on the undercard, but Manny Pacquiao (44-3-2, 32 KOs) came up big as expected by knocking out undefeated Jorge Solis (32-1-2, 1 ND, 23 KOs) of Mexico in the seventh round.
Solis had a very awkward style and gave Pacquiao trouble for the first few rounds by dodging a lot of his punches. The fight was fought on even terms until a clash of heads opened up a cut on the left eyebrow of Pacquiao. Once Pacquiao was cut, he became very aggressive and landed several power punches that had Solis in trouble. To his credit, Solis made it out of the round to get punished some more.
In the seventh round, a combination of punches punctuated by a right uppercut sent Solis down. He barely beat the count and was quickly sent down for the second time in the round after Pacquiao fired off another combination of power shots. This time Solis was unable to make it to his feet as the referee reached the count of 10.
The most obvious next move would be a fight against WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, a rematch of a classic battle which took place on May 6, 2004, in Las Vegas. When the two met in '04, expectations were very high and both men delivered.
Pacquiao exploded with his left hand in the first round. Marquez had no answers for the left hand and as a result he was knocked down three times in the round. Following the first round, the fight appeared to be in the bag for Pacquiao.
Then the unthinkable happened. The comeback of all comebacks began.
Marquez, giving up a 10-7 round in the first, began to confuse Pacquiao by switching up his style and boxing from odd angles. After the first, Marquez was able to neutralize Pacquiao's left hand by using his defensive skills in combination with his superior ring generalship capabilities. He exposed Pacquiao as a one-handed fighter, which he was at the time of their encounter.
The scoring of the fight only fueled the controversy as to who actually won the contest, 115-110 Pacquiao, 115-110 for Marquez and 113-113 for the draw. Some ringside observers saw Marquez winning almost every single round after giving up the big first. Others saw Pacquiao winning a decisive decision.
Although Marquez recently won the biggest fight of his career against Marco Antonio Barrera in March, he appears to be on the slide with respect to his physical abilities. In several of his fights in the last two years, he seemed slower with his hands and more susceptible to punches. Pacquiao, on the other hand, has been red hot and on top of his game. No longer a one-handed fighter, trainer Freddie Roach has developed Pacquiao's right hand and turned him into a solid two-handed knockout artist.
The same problem exists in making a Pacquiao-Marquez clash as it does in making a Pacquiao-Barrera rematch. Marquez is under contract with Golden Boy Promotions and Pacquiao is under contract with Top Rank. The two promotional companies are locked in a pending legal battle over Pacquiao. The Filipino sensation signed contracts with both promotional companies in 2006, and both sides are claiming to have possession of the valid contract.
Another potential foe is undefeated power puncher Edwin Valero, holder of the WBA super featherweight title. If the fight is held outside of the United States, it's possible to make the match. If they attempt to hold the fight in the United States, he will face the same exact problem with Valero as he does with getting Marquez and Barerra in the ring. Golden Boy Promotions still have a valid contract to promote Valero in the United States, which rules him out as an opponent on U.S. soil.
The most interesting — and some say the most dangerous — bout would come against Mexican bomber Humberto Soto. Soto happens to be under the same promotional banner as Pacquiao, throwing all of the legal issues out the window. Soto is a big puncher and a physically large fighter in terms of mass. He puts on a lot of weight between the official weigh-in and the actual fight.
Soto doesn't have the name value of a Barrera or a Marquez, but he is the best possible opponent out there. Coincidentally, Soto takes on Pacquiao's brother, Bobby, on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah pay-per-view on June 9 in New York City.
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